Research Guide

Researching Canadian Federal Statutes at the HLA Library

Primary Sources:

  • Statutes
  • Regulations
  • Case Law: Supreme Court, Federal Court

Secondary Sources

  • Legal Encyclopedias
  • Digests of Law
  • Legal Journals
  • Textbooks/looseleafs
  • Legal Dictionaries

Official Sources

  • Canada Gazette Part I, II, and III
  • Status of Bills and Motions (House of Commons)
  • Consolidated Regulations of Canada
  • Federal Regulatory Guide
  • Statutes of Canada
  • Revised Statutes of Canada
  • Hansard Debates

Unofficial Sources

  • Canada Statute Citator
  • Canada Statute Service
  • Canada Legislative Index
  • Canada Regulations Index

Where to Look for Canadian Statutes and Regulations at the Hamilton Law Association's Library

Print Resources

Statutes:

  • Revised Statutes of Canada 1985 (R.S.C. 1985)
  • Statutes of Canada
  • Canada Gazette Part III

Regulations:

  • Consolidated Regulations of Canada
  • Canada Gazette Part II (lists new and amending regulations)
  • Canada Gazette Part I (contains proposed regulations and other government notices)
  • Federal Regulatory Guide (a source for proposed regulatory action)

Bills:

  • Status of Bills and Motions (House of Commons)
  • Debates of the Senate

Electronic Resources

Statutes:

  • CD-ROMs (Canadian Statute Citations, Canada Statute Service, Consolidated Statutes and Regulations of Canada)
  • QuickLaw (db: RSC)
  • Lexis-Nexis (Canada; Cansta, Canada; Canleg, or Canada; Cancla)

Regulations:

  • CD-ROMs (Canada Statute Service, Consolidated Statutes and Regulations)
  • QuickLaw (db: SOR)
  • Lexis-Nexis (Canada; Canreg, or Canada; Canleg)

Bills:

  • QuickLaw (db CB, db CB361, or db CB35)

* All CD-ROM products are available at every lawyer terminal from the Start Menu and from the desktop

*Quicklaw is available free to all paid up HLA members

*Lexis-Nexis searches are available through the library staff

Internet Resources

Statutes:

Regulations:

Bills:

Canada Gazettes:

*All the above sites are bookmarked on our lawyers terminals in Internet Explorer

In cases where it is not possible to thoroughly ascertain the status of recent legislation, it would be useful to contact the applicable legislative office responsible for the legislation in question. The Clerk of the House at 613-992-2986 should be able to confirm research regarding the status of a particular federal bill or check for a proclamation date for new legislation. The Privy Council Office (Justice) at 613-957-0065 should be able to confirm the status of recent federal regulations.

Researching Ontario Statutes at the HLA Library

Primary Sources

  • Statutes
  • Regulations
  • Municipal Bylaws
  • Case Law

Secondary Sources

  • Legal Encyclopedias
  • Digests of Law
  • Legal Journals
  • Textbooks/looseleafs
  • Legal Dictionaries

Official Sources

  • Revised Statutes of Ontario
  • Statutes of Ontario
  • Table of Public Statutes
  • Table of Proclamations
  • Status of Legislation
  • Revise Regulations of Ontario
  • Ontario Gazette
  • Table of Regulations
  • Hansard Debates

Unofficial Sources

  • Ontario Legislative Digest
  • Ontario Citator Service
  • Ontario Status of Bills
  • Office Consolidations
  • Ontario Regulation Service

Where to Look for Ontario Statutes and Regulations at the Hamilton Law Association's Library

Print Resources

Statutes:

  • Revised Statutes of Ontario 1990(R.S.0. 1990)
  • Statutes of Ontario

Regulations:

  • Revised Statutes of Ontario
  • Ontario Gazette
  • Table of Regulations

Bills:

  • First and third reading version of a bills are shelved with the Legislative Materials in the Library

Proclamations:

  • Table of Proclamations (follows the Table of Public Statutes in the blue pages containing an alphabetical list of all acts proclaimed in force since RSO 1990, as well as those not proclaimed)

Electronic Resources

Statutes:

  • CD-ROMs (Ontario Citator Service)
  • QuickLaw (db: RSO)
  • Lexis-Nexis (Canada; Onsta, Canada; Onleg, or Canada; Cancla)

Regulations:

  • CD-ROMs (Ontario Citator Service)
  • QuickLaw (db: OREG)
  • Lexis-Nexis (Canada; Oatreg)

Bills:

  • QuickLaw (db OB)

* All CD-ROM products are available at every lawyer terminal from the Start Menu and from the desktop.

*Quicklaw is available free to all paid up HLA members

*Lexis-Nexis searches are available through the library staff

Internet Resources

Statutes and Regulations:

Bills:

Proclamations:

Hansards:

The Ontario Gazette:

*All the above sites are bookmarked on our lawyers terminals in Internet Explorer

In cases where it is not possible to thoroughly ascertain the status of recent legislation, it would be useful to contact the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly at 416-325-7340. They should be able to confirm your research regarding the status of an Ontario bill or to check for a proclamation date for new legislation. The Regulations Office at 416-326-2748 should be able to confirm the status of recent Ontario regulations.

Researching Case Law at the HLA Library

Introduction

"Case law" refers to the decisions of the courts and of various administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies. Whether they are called cases, judgements or decisions, they all constitute case law. In common law legal systems the decisions of the courts constitute a primary source of law. However, a distinction should be made between reported and unreported decisions. Reported decisions are those decisions of a court or tribunal that are published in a printed series of law reports. These printed law reports are published either by a commercial publisher or a government publisher. Unreported decisions are cases that have not been selected for publication in a series of printed law reports.

Sources of Case Law

At the HLA library, we are fortunate to have most of the published law reports for Canada and the United Kingdom. Those we do not have, most are available to us through Quicklaw, LEXIS-NEXIS, or the CD-ROM products. Unreported decisions of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States are available to us through Quicklaw, and LEXIS-NEXIS.

The organization of law reports in the HLA Library is easy to remember. All law reports, digests and journals are shelved in the same area, and are arranged alphabetically by the title of the series. The following is a list of HLA Law Reports and Digests available in the library:

  • Administrative Law Reports*
  • Alberta Law Reports*
  • Alberta Reports*
  • All Canada Weekly Summaries*
  • All England Law Reports
  • American Jurisprudence - Proof of Facts
  • ATLA Reporter
  • Atlantic Provinces Reports*
  • British Columbia Reports*
  • Business Law Reports
  • Canada Tax Cases
  • Canadian Bankruptcy Reports
  • Canadian Cases on Employment Law
  • Canadian Cases on the Law on Insurance
  • Canadian Cases on the Law of Torts
  • Canadian Constitutional Decisions*
  • Canadian Criminal Cases*
  • Canadian Customs and Excise Reports*
  • Canadian Environmental Law Reports
  • Canadian Human Rights Reporter
  • Canadian Insurance Reporter*
  • Canadian Labour Law Cases
  • Canadian Law Reporter*
  • Canadian Labour RelationsBoard Reports
  • Canadian Native Law Reporter*
  • Canadian Patent Reporter
  • Canadian Provincial Human Rights Decisions*
  • Canadian Railway Cases*
  • Canadian Reports - Appeal Cases/B.N.A. Act*
  • Canadian Rights Reporter*
  • Carswell Practice Cases*
  • Cases in Parliament*
  • Chancery Chambers Reports*
  • Charter of Rights Decisions*
  • Commercial Registration Appeal Tribunal*
  • Construction Law Reports
  • Corpus Juris Secundum
  • Cox's Criminal Cases*
  • Criminal Appeal Reports*
  • Criminal Appeal Reports-Sentencing*
  • Criminal Reports
  • Criminal Reports New Series
  • Criminal Reports 3rd, 4th, 5th Series
  • The Digest of Environmental Law and Environmental Assessment*
  • Dismissal and Employment Law Digest
  • Dominion Law Reports
  • Dominion Law Reports-Annotations
  • Dominion Tax Cases*
  • Employment and Labour Law Reporter
  • Election Cases*
  • English Reports*
  • Estates & Trusts Reports
  • Exchequer Court Reports*
  • Federal Court Reports
  • Grants Chancery Reports*
  • Immigration Appeal Case*
  • Immigration Law Reporter*
  • Insurance Law Reporter*
  • Irish Reports*
  • Judgements of the U.F.C.*
  • Labour Arbitration Cases
  • Land Compensation Reports*
  • Law Reports - Appeal Cases
  • Law Reports - Chancery Division
  • Law Reports - Probate Division*
  • Law Reports - Queen's Bench Division*
  • Law Reports - King's and Queen's Bench
  • Law Reports - Admiralty and Ecclesiastic Courts*
  • Law Reports - Common Pleas Crown Cases*
  • Law Reports - English & Irish Appeals*
  • Law Reports - Equity*
  • Law Reports - Exchequer Division*
  • Law Reports - Privy Counsel Appeals*
  • The Law Times Reports*
  • Lloyd's Law Reports*
  • Manitoba Law Reports*
  • Maritime Province Reports*
  • Mining Commissioner Cases*
  • Motor Vehicle Reports*
  • Municipal and Planning Reports*
  • National Reporter*
  • National Trade and Tariff Service*
  • New Brunswick Reports*
  • Newfoundland Reports*
  • Newfoundland and P.E.I. Reports*
  • Nova Scotia Reports*
  • Ontario Appeal Cases*
  • Ontario Appeal Reports*
  • Ontario Decisions - Criminal Conviction Cases*
  • Ontario Decisions- Criminal Sentencing Cases*
  • Ontario Family Law Reporter*
  • Ontario Labour Relations Board Reports
  • Ontario Municipal Board Reports
  • Ontario Reports
  • Ontario Weekly Notes*
  • Pay Equity Reports*
  • Pension Review Board Reports*
  • Personal Property Security Act Cases*
  • Practice Reports*
  • Real Property Reports
  • Reports of Family Law
  • Saskatchewan Law Reports*
  • Saskatchewan Reports*
  • Supreme Court Reports
  • The Reports*
  • The Times Law Reports*
  • Upper Canada Reports - Common Pleas*
  • Upper Canada Reports - Error and Appeal*
  • Upper Canada Reports - King's and Queen's Bench*
  • Weekly Criminal Bulletin
  • Weekly Digest of Civil Procedure*
  • Weekly Notes*
  • Weekly Law Reports
  • The Western Law Reporter*
  • Western Weekly Reports
  • Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal*
  • Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal*
  • Workplace Safety and Insurance Board*

An"*" appearing next to the name of the Reporter or Digest, indicates that the series is no longer current. Please contact the Hamilton Law Association's Library for information regarding the currency.

Researching Case Law

They are some very useful Internet sites that are good starting points when beginning to research case law:

Electronic Products Available at the HLA Library

General Legal Research

  • Quicklaw - Canada's premiere, comprehensive online research service.
  • LEXIS-NEXIS (Online: searches available from the staff) - The world's largest and most comprehensive online service, with complete US, UK, Canadian & Commonwealth legal materials.

Case Law & Litigation

  • Canadian Abridgement: Canadian Case Digests - Full text of the Canadian Abridgement; includes Tables of Cases & Finding tools with hypertext links. Updated quarterly.
  • Canadian Encyclopedic Digest - Full text of the CED Ontario and Western editions + finding tools, with hypertext links. Updated quarterly.
  • Civil Practice Partner - Consolidated full text of all statutes and rules of court, federal and Ontario; full text of Holmsted & Watson commentary on the Ontario rules; full text of Carswell's annotated Supreme Court and Federal Court Rules; full text of Zuker's annotated Ontario Small Claims Court Practice; full text of Carswell Practice Cases, all series. Updated quarterly.
  • The Rules Concordance and Case Locator - Full text of the rules governing civil procedure of the superior courts for all provinces (except Quebec), the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court concordance of all of the above rules with links to corresponding rules in each jurisdiction. Rules Judicially Considered list of cases interpreting the rules. Full text of case law referenced in Carswell's Rules Judicially Considered. Updated quarterly.

Criminal Law

  • Canadian Criminal Law Library - Consolidated Criminal Code and related statutes, as well as annotations, case summaries and topical index, as found in Martin's Annual Criminal Code; consolidated statutes as well as the annotations found in Martin's Related Criminal Statutes; the full-text of all important decisions rendered in criminal and quasi-criminal cases from all Canadian courts and jurisdictions found in the Canadian Criminal Cases since 1898. Updated quarterly.

Employment and Labour Law

  • Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy & Interpretation Manual - Full text of the Act and regulations, with complete commentary and annotations from the Ontario Ministry of Labour; includes the full text of all cases referred to, not available from any other source.
  • Wrongful Dismissal Database - Allows a researcher to answer the question "Based on the facts of this case, what would a court decide is a reasonable notice period?"; contains more than 2000 summaries of reported decisions from all court levels throughout Canada, including Quebec. Updated by-annually

Estates, Trusts and Wills

  • Estates Partner - Full-text of the Absentees Act, Accumulation Act, Advocacy Act 1992, Children's Law Reform Act, Consent to Treatment Act 1992, Estates Act, Estates Administration Act, Evidence Act, Family Law Act, Human Tissue Gift Act, Insurance Act (excerpts), Land Titles Act (selected portions), Limitations Act, Perpetuities Act, Registry Act (selected portions), Settled Estates Act, Substitute Decisions Act 1992, Succession Law Reform Act, Trustee Act, Variation of Trusts Act, and Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining to estates; commentary from Armstrong, Estate Administration, Oosterhoff, Oosterhoff on Wills and Succession, 4th ed., Schnurr, Estate Litigation, 2nd ed., and Histrop and Cappon, Estate Planning Precedents; full-text cases from Estates and Trusts Reports from 1977. Updated quarterly.

Family Law

  • DIVORCEmate - DIVORCEmate Software produce Superior Court of Justice Financial and Net Family Property Statement forms. Also available are a selection of and family court forms. Updated annually.
  • Family Law Partner - Pertinent federal legislation, and provincial legislation of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan; full-text Reports of Family Law, 1971 to date; full-text Canada Reporter family law cases; Weekly Digests of Family Law, 1994 to date; digests of matrimonial quantums; and commentary on family law by expert authors. Updated quarterly.

Personal Injury

  • Personal Injury Damages Partner - Full-text of cases abridged in Goldsmith from 1986 onward, and selected full-text of cases abridged before 1986; case law digests from Goldsmith's Damages for Personal Injury and Death in Canada; commentary from the introductory material in Goldsmith's Damages for Personal Injury and Death in Canada. Updated by-monthly.

Statutes

  • Canadian Abridgement: Canadian Statute Citations - Contains the titles, citations and sections of all national, provincial and international statutes judicially considered in Canadian decisions since 1867. Finding tools with hypertext links. Updated quarterly.
  • Canada Statute Service - Consolidated full-text of all federal statutes and regulations (except the Income Tax Act) + history + citations + ACWS digests, all hypertext linked. Updated quarterly (currency 3-6 months).
  • Ontario Citator Service - Consolidated full-text of all Ontario statutes and regulations + history + citations + ACWS digests, all hypertext linked. Updated quarterly (currency 3-6 months).
  • Consolidated Statutes and Regulations of Canada - Consolidated full-text of federal statutes and regulations prepared by Justice Canada; full-text of annual statutes; full-text of the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Constitution Act, 1982; Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers; consolidated Index of Statutory Instruments; and Table of Private Acts. Updated three times a year.

Page Last Updated: August 30, 2010